Chapter 19

Chapter 19 Lei Zi’s Brutality

Second floor, interior.

　　Qin Yu had just shaken his head and scrambled up from the floor when Group 2 outside called over the earpiece: “Two people burst out of a shack in the slums and are running toward Fenglin Road. We’re too far away,hard to give chase.”

　　”Are you sure it’s only two people?” Qin Yu asked,his eyes bloodshot.

　　”Confirmed,just two.”

　　”All units,move toward Fenglin Road.” Qin Yu growled through gritted teeth: “We’ve got casualties,so we have to pin down the main suspect no matter what,otherwise this was all for nothing.”

　　”Copy!”

　　”Copy!”

　　”……!”

　　A flurry of urgent responses came through the radio. Qin Yu drew his weapon and immediately shouted: “Anyone who’s not hurt,follow me downstairs,move!”

　　……

　　In under a minute,everyone reached the ground floor. Qin Yu ran at the front of the group and called out: “Group 2,have you got eyes on them? Give me their position.”

　　”They’ve reached Fenglin Road,still running,about to hit the Third Ring Road intersection.” The Group 2 leader replied in a low voice: “We’re on them,but we’re a bit far back,still in pursuit.”

　　Qin Yu paused at those words,instantly remembering that Qi Lin was in that direction,and immediately grabbed the radio and shouted: “Car 2,Car 2,do you copy?”

　　”Car 2 copies.” Qi Lin’s voice came through.

　　”The suspects are heading your way.” Qin Yu rattled off the order: “There are two of them. As long as you keep yourself safe,try to hold them up if you can. We’ve got casualties,and if you can just stall them for ten or so seconds,we’ll be right there.”

　　Qi Lin froze at those words.

　　”Did you hear me?” Qin Yu called again.

　　”Copy……copy that.” Qi Lin replied,his voice tight with nerves.

　　”Stay on the line,we’ll be there any second.” Even as he spoke,Qin Yu had already burst out of the alley and jumped into a police vehicle that had just pulled up,along with Lao Mao.

　　At the same time,Lao Hei and two members of Lao Mao’s team got into another vehicle and headed immediately for the Third Ring Road intersection,less than five hundred meters away.

　　Inside the car,Lao Mao grabbed the radio and called: “Qi Lin,can you see anyone coming through?”

　　……

　　Third Ring Road junction.

　　Qi Lin had already gotten out of the car by now,so nervous he’d forgotten to bring the in-car radio. His arm trembling,he drew his sidearm from his holster and pressed himself against the front of the vehicle,eyes locked on the direction of Fenglin Road.

　　Yes,Qi Lin never in his wildest dreams imagined that this reckless maniac would come running straight toward him. He was terrified. He couldn’t help but think back to the explosion upstairs just moments ago,and the colleague who had died so senselessly. He was scared. Crouched behind the car,it was only a matter of seconds,yet it felt like years dragging by. He was nothing like the other officers — his mind held no grand notion of sacrificing himself for the greater good,only a gutless,bloodless fear……

　　The cold wind swept through as A Long led his companion charging forward in long strides,a gleaming large-caliber shotgun in one hand and a handgun in the other.

　　Inside the car,Lao Mao’s voice kept crackling over the radio: “Qi Lin,can you hear me? Have they passed? Come in,come in……!”

　　Sweat beading on his forehead,Qi Lin kept his eyes fixed on A Long’s direction. After a long hesitation,he finally gritted his teeth and raised his handgun,his voice trembling as he prepared to call out a warning.

　　In the dim light,A Long turned to his companion and asked: “What did Xia Pazi say?”

　　”He’s already on his way,” his companion panted,pointing ahead: “Cut through the shacks up front.”

　　”Hold on,there’s a police car.” The moment A Long turned,he spotted Car 2 at the intersection where Qi Lin was stationed.

　　”Bang bang bang……!”

　　His companion’s nerves were wound tight. He turned,saw the police car,and without a second thought squeezed the trigger and shouted: “Go,I’ll cover you.”

　　Bullets raked the police car,sparks flying everywhere. Qi Lin hunched down,pinned behind the front of the vehicle,not daring to show his head.

　　Inside the car,Lao Mao’s voice kept blaring over the radio: “Qi Lin,there’s gunfire on your end,have you made contact with them?!”

　　Qi Lin faintly heard the noise from inside the car,crouched low and crawled to the passenger side,reaching out to grab the door handle.

　　On the street,A Long was sprinting hard under cover of his companion’s fire. He was pushing straight across from the diagonal of the intersection,trying to force his way into the shack district. At this point he was no more than thirty meters from Qi Lin.

　　Qi Lin’s hand was on the door handle,just about to yank it open,when he turned his head and saw A Long about to duck into the alley. Forced into action,he raised his gun and opened his mouth to shout a warning.

　　At the intersection,A Long had been keeping an eye on the police car as he ran,so when he turned,he came face to face with Qi Lin.

　　Both men froze for a split second. Without thinking,A Long raised the shotgun and let off a round straight at the car’s hood.

　　”Crash!”

　　The hood caved in on the spot,but Qi Lin just stood there,rooted to the ground,not daring to return fire.

　　”Vroom!”

　　Just then,Lao Hei’s car came barreling in. He called over the radio: “Qi Lin,fire one shot,cut him off,he won’t get away.”

　　Qi Lin stayed crouched behind the police car without moving,staring at the intersection with wide,frightened eyes,his face drained of color.

　　”Damn it!” Lao Hei saw Qi Lin wasn’t responding and immediately shouted: “Push through,there’s only two of them.”

　　The car shot forward and blew past Qi Lin’s position in an instant.

　　”Bang bang!”

　　Lao Hei leaned out of the car window and fired two shots at A Long’s companion,who was in the middle of changing magazines. The man’s body erupted in a spray of blood and he fell backward to the ground.

　　”CNM,you came after me for this!” A Long snarled,eyes red,spinning around and raising his gun,squeezing the trigger.

　　”Bang,bang!”

　　The large-caliber shotgun roared. The electric car’s tires blew out on the spot,and it skidded sideways into the wall beside a shop at the intersection,the front end crumpling halfway in,white smoke rising from it.

　　Lao Hei shook his head,shoved the car door open and shouted: “It’s just him now,get over there and pin him down.”

　　Everyone got out of the car at his call,grabbed their weapons and moved toward A Long’s position.

　　”Screech!”

　　A braking sound cut through the snow-white street,and four burly men stepped out of a car,two of them carrying automatic rifles,opening fire in Lao Hei’s direction.

　　On the Third Ring Road,Qin Yu had just arrived at the firefight scene and immediately spotted the men who had rushed to A Long’s side. He grabbed the radio and shouted: “Lao Hei,fall back,they’ve got backup.”

　　It was already too late for Lao Hei to fall back — he was out of the car and had pushed forward,so when the bullets swept through,his only option was to take cover in the recessed doorway of the shop. But A Long,with his brother’s blood on his hands,had gone red-eyed. He came charging up with the shotgun and roared: “CNM,still chasing me? You still want to chase me?!”

　　”Bang!”

　　Lao Hei was pressed flat against the shop’s glass door,not daring to peek outside,and could only fire a blind shot. But A Long,bold and ruthless,came hugging the wall,and jammed the shotgun barrel right against Lao Hei’s head.

　　Silence. A brief silence.

　　”Don’t move!”

　　The two officers behind Lao Hei raised their weapons to cover him.

　　”Rat-tat-tat!”

　　Xia Pazi leveled his automatic rifle and drove both of them back behind cover.

　　Lao Hei’s forehead was drenched in sweat,his thick lips trembling: “……don’t……don’t kill me……I……”

　　”You think killing my man costs nothing? Huh,you think it costs nothing?!” A Long let out a furious roar.

　　”Bang!”

　　The shot rang out,and Lao Hei dropped.

　　”Chase me,keep chasing me,and I’ll send a grenade to your station every single day.” A Long lowered the barrel and pumped three more shots into Lao Hei’s body before Xia Pazi pulled him away. He tossed two grenades onto the road to buy time,then vanished into the night.

　　Behind the police car at the street corner,Qi Lin watched with his own eyes as Lao Hei was shot dead,watched the grenades blow two massive craters in the road,and stood completely motionless,like a statue.

　　The car screeched to a halt. Qin Yu rushed out,eyes wide as saucers,reached down and grabbed Lao Hei: “Brother,brother……hang in there……”

　　”Dead……if I’m dead,then I’m dead……living was suffering anyway……” Lao Hei reached up and gripped Qin Yu’s wrist,his voice hoarse: “I……I have no family left……lived alone……back in District One……I’ve been supporting two kids from my hometown……you……give them my death benefits.”

　　Qin Yu tightened his grip and nodded firmly: “I will,I promise.”

　　On the street.

　　Lao Mao leapt out of the car with fire in his eyes and stormed straight up to Qi Lin,reaching out and shouting: “Give me your gun.”

　　Qi Lin stared blankly ahead,slowly raising his eyes to look at Lao Mao.

　　”I said give me your gun!” Lao Mao roared and snatched Qi Lin’s sidearm,then with practiced hands ejected the magazine and stopped cold.

　　”I’m……I’m……I’m sorry……” Qi Lin stammered.

　　Lao Mao’s arm shook with rage. He jabbed a finger at the rounds still in the magazine and screamed: “You……you didn’t fire a single shot,not one goddamn shot,did you? Huh?! If you’d fired one shot,would Lao Hei be dead? Would that bastard have gotten away?! CNM,you useless piece of shit!”

　　The three people who had just died upstairs were all members of Lao Mao’s team. They weren’t exactly close friends,but they were colleagues he’d spent every day with.

　　He snapped. He launched a kick at Qi Lin’s head: “Why didn’t you fire? Were you scared of dying? If you were scared of dying,why the hell were you taking up space?! CNM,I’ll beat you to death,you worthless piece of trash……”